Tatas to make iPhone in India, becomes India's first homegrown iphone maker after Taiwan's wistron
New Delhi (PTI): Tata Group is set to become India's first homegrown iPhone maker after Taiwan's Wistron Group agreed to sell a plant in Bengaluru to India's largest conglomerate.
Wistron's board approved the sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd to Tata Electronics for USD 125 million, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer said in a statement on Friday. The unit operates an iPhone assembly plant near Bengaluru.
The takeover of the Wistron Corp factory concludes about a year of negotiations. The facility employs more than 10,000 workers, who assemble the latest iPhone 14 model.
"Upon confirmation and signature of the relevant agreements by both parties, the deal will proceed to obtain the necessary approvals," Wistron said.
Apple's iPhones are mainly assembled by Taiwanese manufacturing giants like Pegatron Corp and Foxconn Technology Group.
Tata Electronics is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, the promoter of the salt-to-software conglomerate. The group is seeking to make inroads into electronics production and e-commerce. Tata Electronics already operates a manufacturing facility in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.
Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar took to the X to congratulate Tata for taking over Wistron operations.
The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme has already propelled India into becoming a trusted and major hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports.
"Now, within just two and a half years, @TataCompanies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from India," he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Thank you @Wistron for your contributions, and great going for Apple in building a global supply chain from India with Indian companies at its helm."
PM @narendramodi Ji's visionary PLI scheme has already propelled India into becoming a trusted & major hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports.
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) October 27, 2023
Now within just two and a half years, @TataCompanies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from… pic.twitter.com/kLryhY7pvL
He went on to state that his ministry stands fully in support of the growth of global Indian electronics companies to make India their trusted manufacturing and talent partner.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is looking beyond China amid a trade war between the US and Beijing.
In May this year, Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said India is an "incredibly exciting market" and a "major focus" for the company, as the iPhone maker highlighted that business in India "set a quarterly record, grew very strong, double-digits year-over-year".
The company charted an ambitious retail expansion in India in April this year when it launched two retail outlets in Mumbai and Delhi during Cook's first trip to the country in seven years.
"Wistron Corp held a Board of Directors meeting today and granted approval for its subsidiaries, SMS InfoComm (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Wistron Hong Kong Ltd to sign the Share Purchase Agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd (TEPL) for the sale of its 100 per cent indirect stake in Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Pvt Ltd (WMMI)," Wistron announced in the statement.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
